Technologyhttp://ahotoronline.com
Thu, 24 May 2018 15:56:47 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.9.6https://i0.wp.com/ahotoronline.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/ahotorlogofm.jpg?fit=32%2C24Technologyhttp://ahotoronline.com
3232120387210WhatsApp to raise minimum age limit to 16 in EUhttp://ahotoronline.com/whatsapp-to-raise-minimum-age-limit-to-16-in-eu/
http://ahotoronline.com/whatsapp-to-raise-minimum-age-limit-to-16-in-eu/#respondWed, 25 Apr 2018 09:19:49 +0000http://ahotoronline.com/?p=20932Popular messaging service WhatsApp is banning under-16s from using its platform in the European Union.

To comply with GDPR, the social network is asking those aged 13 to 15 to nominate a parent or guardian to give permission for them to share information on the platform.

If they do not, they will not see a fully personalised version of the platform.

In a related development, Facebook’s Instagram service has also launched a “data download” tool that provides a file containing the photos, comments, archived Stories, contacts and other personal data a user had posted to the service in the past.

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has admitted that the social network “made mistakes” that led to millions of Facebook users having their data exploited by a political consultancy.

Cambridge Analytica is accused of improperly using the data on behalf of political clients.

In a statement, Mr Zuckerberg said a “breach of trust” had occurred.

In a later interview with CNN he said he was “really sorry”, and pledged to take action against “rogue apps”.

He added that he was “happy” to testify before Congress “if it’s the right thing to do”.

In his statement posted on Facebook, he promised to make it far harder for apps to “harvest” user information.

“We have a responsibility to protect your data, and if we can’t then we don’t deserve to serve you,” Mr Zuckerberg said.

What has Zuckerberg pledged to do?

To address current and past problems, Mr Zuckerberg said his company would:
investigate all Facebook apps that had access to large amounts of information before the platform was changed “to dramatically reduce data access” in 2014

conduct a “full forensic audit” of any app with suspicious activity

ban any developer that did not agree to a thorough audit

ban developers that had misused personally identifiable information, and “tell everyone affected by those apps”

In future, he said Facebook would:
restrict developers’ data access “even further” to prevent other kinds of abuse
remove developers’ access to a user’s data if the user hadn’t activated the developer’s app for three months

reduce the data that users give an app when they sign in to just name, profile photo, and email address

require developers to obtain approval and also sign a contract in order to ask anyone for access to their posts or other private data

Mr Zuckerberg added: “While this specific issue involving Cambridge Analytica should no longer happen with new apps today, that doesn’t change what happened in the past.

“We will learn from this experience to secure our platform further and make our community safer for everyone going forward.”

I read one thing loud and clear from Mr Zuckerberg’s initial statement: Facebook is not prepared to take the blame for what has happened.

Contrition has never been Mr Zuckerberg’s strong point, and the statement, days in the making, was no different.

No apology to users, investors or staff over how this incident was allowed to happen by the data policies in place at the time.

No explanation as to why, after learning its data was being abused like this in 2014, it opted to give the companies a telling off instead of banning them outright.

No reasoning as to why Facebook failed to inform users their data may have been affected. Technically, it still hasn’t.

Mr Zuckerberg’s words were not an explanation, but a legal and political defence. This company knows it is heading into battle on multiple fronts.

What is the row about?

In 2014, Facebook invited users to find out their personality type via a quiz developed by Cambridge University researcher Dr Aleksandr Kogan called This is Your Digital Life.

About 270,000 users’ data was collected, but the app also collected some public data from users’ friends.

Facebook has since changed the amount of data developers can gather in this way, but a whistleblower, Christopher Wylie, says the data of about 50 million people was harvested for Cambridge Analytica before the rules on user consent were tightened up.

Mr Wylie claims the data was sold to Cambridge Analytica – which has no connection with Cambridge University – which then used it to psychologically profile people and deliver pro-Trump material to them.

The firm’s chief executive, Alexander Nix – who was suspended on Tuesday – was secretly recorded in a Channel 4 investigation saying the London-based company ran Donald Trump’s digital campaign during the 2016 US election.

“We did all the research, all the data, all the analytics, all the targeting, we ran all the digital campaign, the television campaign and our data informed all the strategy,” he added.

Dr Kogan has said he was told by Cambridge Analytica everything they had done was legal, and that he was being made a “scapegoat” by the firm and Facebook.

How has Cambridge Analytica responded?

Cambridge Analytica denies any wrongdoing.

Facebook says users’ data was obtained legitimately but Cambridge Analytica failed to delete it when told to do so.

For its part, Cambridge Analytica says it did delete the data when told to by Facebook.

It suspended Mr Nix following his comments which appeared to suggest tactics his company could use to discredit politicians online.

However, the firm said the report of comments secretly recorded by Channel 4 News had “grossly misrepresented” Mr Nix’s comments.

What investigations are under way?

US senators have called on Mr Zuckerberg to testify before Congress about how his company will protect users, while consumer watchdog the US Federal Trade Commission has reportedly opened an investigation into Facebook.

The head of the European Parliament also said it would investigate to see if the data was misused.

The UK’s Information Commissioner Elizabeth Denham is attempting to obtain a warrant to search the offices of Cambridge Analytica.

Meanwhile, a UK parliamentary committee has called for Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg to give evidence about its use of personal data.

There have also been calls for an investigation into the work Cambridge Analytica carried out during the 2013 election in Kenya.

]]>http://ahotoronline.com/zuckerberg-apologises-for-data-breaches/feed/019505Cambridge Analytica: Facebook data row academic says he is ‘scapegoat’http://ahotoronline.com/cambridge-analytica-facebook-data-row-academic-says-he-is-scapegoat/
http://ahotoronline.com/cambridge-analytica-facebook-data-row-academic-says-he-is-scapegoat/#respondWed, 21 Mar 2018 08:04:18 +0000http://ahotoronline.com/?p=19433An academic who created an app which harvested data from 50 million users says he has been made “a scapegoat” for Facebook and Cambridge Analytica.

Dr Aleksandr Kogan completed work for Cambridge Analytica in 2014, but said he had no idea the data would be used to benefit Donald Trump’s campaign.

The psychology academic said he wanted the data so he could model human behaviour through social media.

Facebook says Dr Kogan violated the site’s policies.

The Cambridge University researcher developed a personality survey called This is Your Digital Life.

About 270,000 users’ data was collected, but the app also collected some public data from users’ friends.

Cambridge Analytica whistleblower Christopher Wylie said that, as a result, the data of about 50 million users was harvested for the analysis firm.

Dr Kogan said he was “stunned” by the allegations made against him as he was advised the app was entirely legal.

He said: “The events of the past week have been a total shell shock, and my view is that I’m being basically used as a scapegoat by both Facebook and Cambridge Analytica when… we thought we were doing something that was really normal.

“We were assured by Cambridge Analytica that everything was perfectly legal and within the terms of service.”

He said that the work the company did, including research, analytics and targeted campaigning, allowed the Republican candidate to win with a narrow margin of “40,000 votes” in three states.

“We did all the research, all the data, all the analytics, all the targeting, we ran all the digital campaign, the television campaign and our data informed all the strategy,” he added.

Cambridge Analytica denies doing anything wrong and on Monday said the executives had “entertained a series of ludicrous hypothetical scenarios” in order to “play along with this line of conversation, and partly to spare our ‘client’ from embarrassment”.

But Dr Kogan said the accuracy of the dataset had been “exaggerated” by Cambridge Analytica, and said the dataset was more likely to hurt Mr Trump’s campaign.

A spokesperson for Facebook said the academic was not allowed to transfer data to Cambridge Analytica, a third-party who would use the set for commercial purposes.

They added that sharing users’ friends data outside the app was also against Facebook’s fundamental principles.

Dr Kogan said he was following advice given to him by Cambridge Analytica, and added he had “no reason to doubt” that was breaking any policy with Facebook.

On Tuesday a Cambridge University spokesperson said they had “sought and received assurances” from Dr Kogan that no University data, resources or facilities were used for his work and they had found no evidence to contradict that, but were writing to Facebook to “request all relevant evidence in their possession”.

Before Channel 4 News had broadcast any of the secret filming, Mr Nix told the BBC’s Newsnight programme he felt the firm had been “deliberately entrapped”.

Damian Collins, the chairman of the Commons inquiry into fake news, accused Facebook of previously “misleading” the committee, and said it was “now time to hear from a senior Facebook executive with the sufficient authority to give an accurate account of this catastrophic failure of process”.

]]>http://ahotoronline.com/cambridge-analytica-facebook-data-row-academic-says-he-is-scapegoat/feed/019433Microsoft comes to the rescue of Ghana’s ‘blackboard ICT teacher’http://ahotoronline.com/microsoft-comes-to-the-rescue-of-ghanas-blackboard-ict-teacher/
http://ahotoronline.com/microsoft-comes-to-the-rescue-of-ghanas-blackboard-ict-teacher/#respondFri, 16 Mar 2018 08:36:26 +0000http://ahotoronline.com/?p=19265Microsoft has come to the aid of Betnase M/A Junior High School after its ICT teacher Richard Appiah Akoto taught students how to use a computer with a blackboard.

The tech giant has announced it will donate “device and software support” to Akoto and also help the school with the proper equipment.

It had pledged to equip Akoto with a device from a business partner as well as access to the Microsoft Certified Educator Program (MCE) for professional development.

Akoto was flown to Singapore by Microsoft to attend the annual Microsoft Educators Exchange, as part of the tech giant’s promise to offer him free training.

He was given a standing ovation when he appeared on stage at the Education Exchange conference in Singapore.

Betenase M/A Junior High School hasn’t had a computer since 2011, and Akoto’s students need to pass a national exam that includes questions on information and communication technology (ICT).

In a press release, Microsoft announced that it would be helping Akoto through a local partner in Ghana to be able to provide device and software support so his students at Betenase Municipal Assembly Junior High School wouldn’t be without the proper equipment again. It also announced that Akoto will also gain access to the Microsoft Certified Education Program.

The Vice President for Worldwide Education at Microsoft, Anthony Salcito, praised Richard Akoto for overcoming major obstacles to help his students.

“Your work has really inspired the world. It really shows the amazing innovation and commitment and passion that teachers have for helping their students get ready for the future,” he said.

Microsoft aren’t the only ones who came to the aid of Akoto and his students. Since going viral, Akoto’s school has also received multiple donations of computers for his students.

After reading the Facebook post that made Akoto famous, a Saudi benefactor at University of Leeds in the UK sent him a laptop “as a small gift to his students.”

“I always understand from the teachings of Islam that useful knowledge is crucial for the benefit of the self and humanity,” Amirah Alharthi, a PhD student in Leeds’ department of statistics, told CNN.

“Also, I am thinking of how much genius people the world has already lost because these people did not have the fair opportunities comparing to others and that makes me very sad.”

NIIT Ghana, a computer training school based in Accra, donated five desktop computers to the school, along with books and a laptop for Akoto.

The 2018 Microsoft Educators Exchange brought together over 400 educators and school leaders from 91 countries to discuss the role of technology in education.

]]>http://ahotoronline.com/microsoft-comes-to-the-rescue-of-ghanas-blackboard-ict-teacher/feed/019265Samsung heir freed from S Korea jailhttp://ahotoronline.com/samsung-heir-freed-from-s-korea-jail/
http://ahotoronline.com/samsung-heir-freed-from-s-korea-jail/#respondTue, 06 Feb 2018 10:09:25 +0000http://ahotoronline.com/?p=17792Samsung heir Lee Jae-yong has been freed from jail after a South Korean court suspended his five year jail term for bribing the country’s ex-president.

An appeals court upheld parts of the conviction, but used its discretion to release the executive.

South Korea’s supreme court is expected to appeal against the decision.

The case gripped the public amid growing anger against the country’s biggest companies, known as chaebols, and their influence on wider society.

Last year a lower court jailed Lee for corruption in a political scandal that ultimately brought down former President Park Geun-hye.

The Samsung Electronics vice chairman, who is also known as Jay Y Lee, who had been detained for nearly a year, appealed against both the verdict and sentence.

The scandal exposed the ties between family-run conglomerates and political powers.

Samsung Electronics is regarded as the jewel in the crown of the Samsung Group conglomerate, which is made up of 60 interlinked companies.

Lee has effectively directed operations at Samsung Electronics since his father, Lee Kun-hee, was incapacitated by a heart attack in 2014.

]]>http://ahotoronline.com/samsung-heir-freed-from-s-korea-jail/feed/017792Tracking device exposes alleged robberhttp://ahotoronline.com/tracking-device-exposes-alleged-robber/
http://ahotoronline.com/tracking-device-exposes-alleged-robber/#respondFri, 02 Feb 2018 11:01:08 +0000http://ahotoronline.com/?p=17673Alidu Mohammed, unemployed who is accused of robbing a Japanese Public Health Nurse and a Caterer of their mobile phones and monies at Dzorwulu has appeared before an Accra Circuit Court.

Mohammed was arrested when a tracking device in one of the mobile phones led the Police to his hideout.

Mohammed’s accomplice known as Yusif is at large.

Mohammed has pleaded not guilty to two counts of robbery.

The court presided over by Mr Aboagye Tandoh remanded him into prison custody to reappear on February 15.

Prosecuting Chief Inspector Victor Dosoo said the first complainant Hitomi Suzuki is a Public Health nurse with the Jirapa Health Directorate and Bridgette Adjebu, while the second complainant is a Caterer residing at Abelemkpe.

Chief Inspector Dosoo said Mohammed resides at Maamobi in Accra and on January 30, this year, Suzuki in the company of Allen Jiang, a witness in the case requested for Uber taxi services.

Prosecution said while they were waiting for the car, Mohammed and Yusif riding an unregistered motorbike spotted them, they then pulled up by their side, drew out a knife and a sharp implement threatened them and snatched her Suzuki’s small waist bag and bolted.

The Prosecution said later when the Uber taxi arrived at the scene they drove to the Dzorwulu Police Post and lodged a complaint.

According to prosecution Mohammed and his accomplice Yusif also robbed several people including Bridgette around the same time.

Prosecution said with the help of the tracking device, the Police traced Mohammed and his accomplice and chased them towards East Legon but on reaching the Ghana Standard Authority near Okponglo, Mohammed and Yusif fell off their motor bike.

They then took to their heels.

The prosecution said the tracking device in the mobile phone led the Police to an uncompleted house where Mohammed had sought refuge where he was picked up.

When Mohammed was searched three mobile phones were found in his possession and including Suzuki’s handbag, GH¢ 18.50, 55 Dirham’s Dubai Currency and the two ID cards.

]]>http://ahotoronline.com/tracking-device-exposes-alleged-robber/feed/017673Uber co-founder Travis Kalanick a billionaire after $9.3bn investment dealhttp://ahotoronline.com/uber-co-founder-travis-kalanick-a-billionaire-after-9-3bn-investment-deal/
http://ahotoronline.com/uber-co-founder-travis-kalanick-a-billionaire-after-9-3bn-investment-deal/#respondFri, 19 Jan 2018 09:57:32 +0000http://ahotoronline.com/?p=17170Uber co-founder Travis Kalanick will become a billionaire, after investors agreed to take a large stake in the ride-hailing firm.

A consortium led by Japan’s Softbank is buying a chunk of the company from existing shareholders as well as new Uber shares in a $9.3bn (£6.7bn) deal.

Mr Kalanick, who stepped down as chief executive in June, is selling $1.4bn worth of stocks, it is widely reported.

While he had long been worth billions on paper, this deal cements his wealth.

He remains a director at the company and is offloading less than a third of his holding – meaning he still has a stake that’s currently worth about another $3bn.

A billionaire, but with reduced powers

Dave Lee, BBC North America technology reporter

If you believe in karma, look away now.

Travis Kalanick is a man who presided over a rampant culture of sexism, the covering up of a major hack, spying on journalists and, allegedly, the theft of trade secrets from Google. To name but a few issues.

And now he’ll officially be a billionaire.

On the other hand, the finalising of this massive deal will see Mr Kalanick’s powers reduced. He’s selling 29% of his shares, and Softbank, the Tokyo-based group which seems to be taking a stake in every bright idea in Silicon Valley, will gain two seats on Uber’s board.

The cash injection will offer both a boost and a cushion as Uber looks to continue its loss-heavy strategy to grow in just about every city and major town in the world.

The consortium’s $9.3bn will buy it a new 17.5% stake in Uber.

Of that $9.3bn, about $1.3bn is a cash investment in new shares, with the rest going to existing Uber investors.

Uber called the deal a “great outcome for our shareholders, employees and customers, strengthening Uber’s governance as we double down on our technology investments and continue to bring our services to more people in more places around the world”.

Softbank, which was already an Uber investor, said it was “very pleased” with the deal and looked forward to “helping Uber become an even bigger global success”.

“Uber has a very bright future under its new leadership,” said Softbank director Rajeev Misra.

As part of the deal, Uber’s board has expanded from 11 to 17 directors, with Softbank’s investor group taking two of the new seats.

San Francisco group Dragoneer is another key investor.

The shake-up comes as Uber concludes a difficult year, in which it faced a sexual harassment scandal, investigations by regulators and a lawsuit over allegedly stolen technology.

It also continues to experience steep losses.

SoftBank has been making a series of increasingly high-profile technology investments, backing China’s Didi Chuxing and Southeast Asian taxi-hailing app Grab, among other companies.

Source: BBC

]]>http://ahotoronline.com/uber-co-founder-travis-kalanick-a-billionaire-after-9-3bn-investment-deal/feed/017170Meltdown and Spectre: All Macs, iPhones and iPads affectedhttp://ahotoronline.com/meltdown-and-spectre-all-macs-iphones-and-ipads-affected/
http://ahotoronline.com/meltdown-and-spectre-all-macs-iphones-and-ipads-affected/#respondFri, 05 Jan 2018 12:28:01 +0000http://ahotoronline.com/?p=16758Apple has said that all iPhones, iPads and Mac computers are affected by two major flaws in computer chips.

It emerged this week that tech companies have been racing to fix the Meltdown and Spectre bugs, that could allow hackers to steal data.

Billions of PCs, smartphones and tablets around the world are affected – Apple has now confirmed its products are too.

The firm has released some patches to mitigate the Meltdown flaw.

It said there was no evidence that either vulnerability had been exploited yet, but advised downloading software only from trusted sources to avoid “malicious” apps.

Mac users have often believed that their devices and operating systems are less vulnerable to security issues than, for example Android phones or computers running Microsoft systems.

The Meltdown and Spectre flaws are found in many modern computer processing units – or microchips – made by Intel and ARM, and together the firms supply almost the entire global computer market.

Guidance from US cyber-security project CERT, which is funded by the federal government, originally advised computer users that in order to fully remove the vulnerability they would have to “replace” processor hardware.

It has now changed that advice to say users should “apply updates” to mitigate any attacks instead.

Stock sold off

This was at a time when Intel knew about Meltdown and Spectre, but before the issues had become public.

“Brian’s sale is unrelated,” said Intel in a statement.

“It was made pursuant to a pre-arranged stock sale plan […] with an automated sale schedule.”

Source: BBC

]]>http://ahotoronline.com/meltdown-and-spectre-all-macs-iphones-and-ipads-affected/feed/016758Uber drivers in Lagos are using a fake GPS app to inflate rider fareshttp://ahotoronline.com/uber-drivers-in-lagos-are-using-a-fake-gps-app-to-inflate-rider-fares/
http://ahotoronline.com/uber-drivers-in-lagos-are-using-a-fake-gps-app-to-inflate-rider-fares/#respondTue, 14 Nov 2017 14:29:38 +0000http://ahotoronline.com/?p=15350Some Uber drivers in Lagos have been using a fake GPS itinerary app to illicitly bump up fares for local riders.

Initially created for developers to “test geofencing-based apps,” Lockito, an Android app that lets your phone follow a fake GPS itinerary, is being used by Uber drivers in Lagos to inflate the cost of their trips.

In some cases, inflated trips can cost riders more than double the rate they should be paying. “It’s more like a parasite,” says Mohammed, a driver for both Uber and Taxify in Lagos. “It sets the false GPS movement while allowing the phone also to keep track of its actual movement. The Uber app can’t tell the difference between both so it just calculates both.”

When a driver uses Lockito for an Uber trip he or she can have the fake GPS running (and calculating a fake fare) from the pickup point to the drop off location, before the passenger has even got into the car. When the real trip starts, the real GPS starts running and calculating the actual fare. But at the end of the journey the fares from both trips (real and fake) are tallied up as one fare which the unsuspecting rider pays.

Uber Nigeria is aware of the abuse of Lockito by certain drivers. Spokeswoman Francesca Uriri, said it is in violation of Uber’s guidelines and the company is “constantly on the lookout for fraud by drivers and riders who are gaming our systems.”

The drivers Quartz spoke with said Lockito or “Locki”, is simply a reaction to Uber’s 40% slash of its base fare implemented in May. Many drivers were unhappy about the price drop and there were a series of protests which had little impact.